China/Mongolia
What basis did the Zhou dynasty use to justify their conquest of the final Shang king? This same explanation was used numerous times in later Chinese history.
Mandate of Heaven, dynastic cycle
Prior to the birth of Islam, what was the lifestyle of most Arabs living in the Arabian peninsula?
Arab Bedouins were primarily nomads living in tight-knit family clans, with some farming and trading activity.
Where are the earliest humans generally considered to have originated?
The Great Rift Valley in East Africa.
According to Muslim belief, who communed with Muhammad to establish Muhammad as the last prophet of Allah?
The angel Gabriel
Name the key geographic features of ancient China that determined where and how early Chinese civilization developed.
Yellow River, Yangtze River, small amount of arable land in eastern China
Name two key technologies developed in China during the prosperous years of the Tang and Song dynasties.
Movable type, gunpowder, porcelain, mechanical clock, paper money, magnetic compass, fast-ripening rice, terraced fields, etc.
What term refers to the enormous library, academy, and translation center established in Baghdad in the early 800s?
The House of Wisdom
Like most ancient civilizations, the earliest Africans likely relied on hunting and gathering to survive. Describe the progression from hunting-gathering through the next two lifestyle "levels" for early Africans.
First transition is to pastoral lifestyle, herding cattle, goats, sheep, and other livestock for food.
The next transition is to settled, agricultural lifestyle which allowed for reliable and ample calories to expand population and improve technology.
This leader was the first to unify China under the Qin Dynasty under a strict legalist autocracy in the 200s BC.
Shi Huangdi
Describe the strategic location of the early Islamic empire and how this location enabled the rapid spread of Islam.
The Arabian peninsula is at the junction of Asia, Europe, and Africa, and sits along many ancient trade routes. These established trade routes enabled Islam to spread relatively quickly into Mediterranean Europe, North and East Africa, and Central and Southern Asia.
Describe two key teachings of Confucianism.
- Proper ordering of key relationships: ruler-subject; father-son; husband-wife; older brother and younger brother; friend and friend.
- Filial piety
- Emphasis on education as foundation of good conduct
- Both personal and political application
What are the Five Pillars of Islam?
- Faith: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His prophet.
- Prayer: Five times per day, facing Mecca.
- Alms: Money to support hte poor.
- Fasting: Dawn to sunset, during Ramadan.
- Pilgrimage: Hajj to Mecca, once in lifetime.
What is meant by describing early African groups as forming "stateless societies"?
Rather than formal governments and states, many early African groups developed political systems based on lineage groups. These groups balanced authorities between lineages, and resolved disputes through elders in different lineages.
This descendant of Genghis Khan conquered China and established the Yuan Dynasty in approximately 1279.
Kublai Khan
- Medina: The Hijrah marks the move to Medina in 622 for greater safety.
- Mecca: Muhammad and 10,000 armed followers returned to Mecca in 630
- Damascus: The Umayyads moved the capital to Damascus in 661.
- Baghdad: The Abbasids moved the capital to Baghdad in 762.
What term describes the vast system of scholar-officials used by several Chinese dynasties to manage the empire? How were these scholar-officials selected?
Bureaucracy, or civil service.
Officials were generally selected based on civil service examinations rooted in Confucian teachings.
What key split followed the death of the final rightly-guided caliph, and still divides the Muslim world today? What is the reason for this divide?
The Sunni-Shia split.
Sunni were aligned with Umayyad rule, and generally believed following Muhammad's life and example (Sunna) should be the highest priority.
Shia believed the caliph needed to be a descendant of Muhammad, and do not recognize the authority of the Sunna.
Describe relevant "push" and "pull" factors that drove the migration of Bantu-speaking people in the early known history of Africa.
Settled agricultural society results in increasing population. Growing population requires more land to farm. Slash and burn farming technique requires more frequent moves to new land. Ironworking technology and language spreads with migration. Sahara inhospitable, while hardwood from forests supports ironworking. Iron weapons offer huge advantage against stone-age rivals.
This Chinese philosopher lived around the same time as Confucius, and is considered the founder of Daoist philosophical tradition.
Laozi
Describe the westernmost points reached by the Mongols.
Poland, Hungary in Europe. Iraq, Palestine in the Middle East.
Describe the idea of Pax Mongolica, and the characteristics of Mongol rule across Eurasia.
"Mongol Peace" featured general stability, law, and order across much of Eurasia. Mongols were brutal to rebels, but tolerant in peace and did not impose their lifestyles and in many cases adopted customs of local people. Mongols guaranteed safe passage of traders, travelers, diplomats, and missionaries across their empire.
Describe Muslim civilization in broad terms as of the year 900, compared with European and Chinese civilization.
The Muslim empire was highly sophisticated with a booming population, cosmopolitan character, and social, philosophical, and technological advances far beyond Europe and rivaled only by the Tang Dynasty in China.
What was the dominant system of recording history in early African society?
Few African societies had written languages, so instead relied on oral history and literature through storytellers (griots) who passed history and stories down within lineages.
As the Abbasid caliphate's influence began to decline, the Fatimid caliphate was formed by Shia Muslims. Who did the Fatimids claim to be descended from?
Fatima, Muhammad's daughter
Describe key geographic features of Africa. Why do some geographers consider Egypt and North Africa to be more connected to ancient European civilization than to sub-Saharan Africa?
Sahara, savannah, Nile River, Congo River basin and rainforest.
The Sahara is a major geographic barrier between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, while it was much easier for Egypt and North African people to contact Southern European and Middle East civilizations by sea.